WASHINGTON, D.C. – The President’s FY2015 Budget Request for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), delivered to Congress today, includes $11.7 billion to support NNSA’s continued efforts to keep the American people safe by modernizing the U.S. nuclear stockpile, executing an aggressive international nuclear nonproliferation agenda and supporting U.S. Navy requirements.

“NNSA’s budget reaffirms the President’s commitment to nuclear security and nonproliferation. The FY15 request provides the resources we need to modernize and maintain an aging nuclear weapons stockpile and supporting infrastructure, keep dangerous nuclear material out of the hands of proliferators and terrorists, respond to a nuclear or radiological emergency and ensure that our nuclear Navy has the power it needs to sail the globe,” said NNSA Acting Administrator Bruce Held. “NNSA has an enduring responsibility to steward the taxpayer’s dollar effectively and efficiently, which is why we are pursuing mission-effective and cost-efficient solutions to the most high risk nuclear security challenges facing our country.”

The budget request allows the NNSA to fund activities that deliver on the President’s nuclear vision while also recognizing that NNSA must continue to seek efficiencies in the way it operates and ensure that it get the most out of its infrastructure investments.

The $11.7 billion request represents an increase in funding relative to the FY2014 enacted and FY2013 annualized Continuing Resolution (CR) levels and builds on last year’s jointly conducted planning process with the Department of Defense to meet the goals of the Nuclear Posture Review within the current fiscal constraints of the Bipartisan Budget Act. The request ensures a safe, secure and reliable nuclear deterrent through our stockpile Life Extension Programs (LEPs); continues to make the world a safer place by securing vulnerable nuclear materials around the world; ensures the safe and reliable operation of the Navy’s nuclear powered fleet; and provides world class nuclear counterterrorism and emergency response tools.

It requests $8.3 billion for the Weapons Activities appropriation, up $534 million from FY2014, including $2.7 billion to modernize the stockpile, particularly the B61 LEP; $1.7 billion to strengthen the science, technology and engineering base in support of life extension activities; and $2.4 billion to keep the President’s commitment to modernize the NNSA’s nuclear security capabilities, including continued design activities for the Uranium Processing Facility. It includes $1.6 billion for NNSA nonproliferation efforts and reflects the decision to place the MOX project in cold standby to further study more efficient options for plutonium disposition. Finally, the budget request includes $1.4 billion for Naval Reactors, up $282 million from FY2014, to support our naval nuclear propulsion systems, including three major initiatives: the Ohio-class Replacement submarine; refueling of the Land-Based Prototype reactor; and the Spent Fuel Handling Recapitalization Project.

Established by Congress in 2000, NNSA is a semi-autonomous agency within the U.S. Department of Energy responsible for enhancing national security through the military application of nuclear science. NNSA maintains and enhances the safety, security, reliability and performance of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile without nuclear testing; works to reduce global danger from weapons of mass destruction; provides the U.S. Navy with safe and effective nuclear propulsion; and responds to nuclear and radiological emergencies in the U.S. and abroad.